Sciencast Management LP Takes $2.63 Million Position in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,627,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FDS. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 5,200.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in FactSet Research Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,000. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE FDS opened at $433.01 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems Inc. has a twelve month low of $391.84 and a twelve month high of $499.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $455.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.19.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.11. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.16% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $570.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $570.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 29.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on FDS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut FactSet Research Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $450.00 to $402.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $525.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $409.00 to $390.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $440.77.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc, a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth.